Thursday, January 17, 2008

Grow a Spine, Governor Patrick

I worked damn hard to get Governor Patrick elected, only to see him become a completely different Governor than he was a candidate. This is not acceptable.

Governor Deval Patrick will propose a gradual reduction in the state's corporate tax rate from 9.5 percent to 8.3 percent when he unveils his budget next week, a bid to win business support and jumpstart his stalled plan to tighten what he calls corporate tax loopholes, administration sources said.

As the Governor well knows, Massachusetts corporations and large businesses enjoy some of the lowest taxes in the country. We have tax policy that results in companies like Walmartcosting us more money than we tax them. If I wanted a Governor who would cut corporate taxes, I would have voted for Kerry Healey.

It would have been nice to see Governor Patrick grow a coalition in the legislature to co-opt DiMasi's power, but instead we've only seen him introduce new policy after new policy, without the perseverance to stick with one. Now, we're seeing him bow down before DiMasi and plea for his proposals to pass, to the point where he'd actually give corporations a tax cut when our state faces a $1 billion dollar deficit. Like I said, this is not acceptable.

At the very least, if the Governor can't build coalitions, it would be nice if he had the guts to publicly spar with the Speaker, even if it meant shutting Government down. If that's what it would take to pass corporate tax loophole cuts and the Municipal Partnership Act, so be it. A huge percentage of the state would have enthusiastically supported him - and it certainly would have awoken the beast that was his army.

Yet, between his corporate tax cut proposal and casinos, I'm not sure if there's very many in his army left. He's supporting policies that are anathema to his base - why continue to support the home if it doesn't fit the foundation? Faith in the governor is quickly evaporating, like rain in the desert. Three years from now, Governor Patrick's seat is going to open up. If he continues along this path, Massachusetts will be welcoming Governor Charlie Baker. Sadly, at the rate things are going, I'm not sure if that's actually a bad thing.

Only an Edwards-type program for the state will make a difference. Like Kucinich protecting the Cleveland municipal electric company, Edwards knows how to stand up to corporations and has no allusions about playing nice-nice with them. Patrick is first and foremost a product of exclusive schools and corporations. Social progressivism under those circumstances only happens once the powerful have had their fill and some crumbs remain on the table. Enormous amounts of money would be saved by individuals and municipalities if real progressives pushed for single payer, but who has championed that protection? Look beyond the hope and change rhetoric for a down to earth, honest recognition of how to make society work for people. Patrick's underlying pro-corporation message was there during the campaign, but people chose to ignore it.

"The net increase in new taxes for the state would be $280 million." The budget gap is $1.3 billion. 15,000 businesses see a net tax reduction. The corporate loopholes are closed. I dunno guys, sounds like a good move to me. Let's see if Deval can find some more money to close that budget gap. Point taken with the Obama comment, but I trust Deval to keep shifting around the cardboard boxes in the moving van to liberate every bit of unused space he can find.

Anon 9:23 - I have very little control over what ads show up on my site. That said, if you click that link, you're costing Mike Huckabee campaign funds... so don't feel guilty at all about doing it! LOL

Anon 10:08,

Would it raise some money? Yes, but we have a billion dollar deficit. If we just closed the loopholes alone, we'd be almost half way there to closing it. In future years, it would be even more money. In a time where this state is in such fiscal trouble, we can't afford to give corporations a tax cut: it's the wrong priority. Massachusetts corporations have some of the lowest taxes in America - yet, our taxes are done in a way which encourages businesses to keep their HQs away from our state. These are all the wrong priorities in terms of fair taxation, supporting our necessary state services and actually creating jobs (we lose jobs when businesses ship off their HQ... and our form of taxation encourages it).

Agreed, the Governor is taking us in the wrong direction at least on corporate taxes and casinos. The question is what to do next, and how to make certain that he knows the concerns of many of us who helped him gain office?Below is a related piece that many will find interesting...and disturbing. What are the particulars about the big-box stores in MA (the concepts may also apply to casinos)?FOR:"Free Lunch_ How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (And Stick You with the Bill)", SEE:http://www.democracynow.org/2008/1/18/free_lunch_how_the_wealthiest_americans

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